Saltine cracker challenge

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Six Nabisco brand saltines, each measuring 5 cm (2 in) square SixSaltinesAndForkOnPlate.jpg
Six Nabisco brand saltines, each measuring 5 cm(2 in) square

The saltine cracker challenge or saltine challenge is a food challenge or competition in which a person has 60 seconds in which to eat six saltine soda crackers without drinking anything.

Contents

Although the challenge may sound trivial, it is difficult because the crackers quickly exhaust the saliva in the mouth. Even though six saltines can fit in one's mouth at the same time, and a minute is plenty of time to chew, the resulting mass of crumbs is still difficult to swallow with a dry mouth. [1] [2]

The individual challenge

The challenge is generally given as eating six saltines in a single minute, although the target is sometimes set at five or seven. [3] [4] Most people are able to eat at least two saltines without water, although patients affected by Sjögren's syndrome lack the saliva necessary for even this many. Doctors may use this test, the "cracker test" or "cracker sign", to help diagnose the disorder. [5] [6] [7]

A 1996 AP story used the challenge to illustrate the competitive nature and persistence of the Tennessee Volunteers' quarterback at the time, Peyton Manning. Having been bet that he could not eat six saltines, Manning attempted them one by one and failed; trying again, he stacked them on top of each other and succeeded. His roommate concluded, "Even something that was a joke, he was out to prove he can do it. He can eat six saltine crackers, and he did. He works out techniques he can do on everything." [8] Before the 2001–2002 season, Penn State Lady Lions basketball coach Rene Portland's cracker-eating ability helped her land star players Tanisha Wright and Jessica Calamusso. During a recruiting trip, the high schoolers' Amateur Athletic Union coach mentioned the cracker challenge; Wright failed but Portland succeeded. Portland did not reveal her technique, but she did comment on the competitive drive: "Obviously, there's a competitor in an old coach to say that 'I can do this.' If I can do childbirth three times, six crackers can't be that hard." [9] Other athletes connected with the challenge include baseball coach Brad Fischer [10] and Derek Jeter; a photographer challenged by Jeter observed, "Being competitive has become his way to relax." [11]

The challenge has been televised on morning news talk shows. In a 2001 The Early Show episode, Tom Bergeron took a bet that he could not eat four saltines in a minute, and after attempting them all at once, he lost $40. Jane Clayson asked the staff member who had started the bet how she knew the challenge, to which she replied, "College." [12] Indeed, several college newspapers have noted the phenomenon on campus. [4] [13] [14] [15]

In a July 2008 episode of Good Morning America , Ted Allen revealed that the Food Detectives techs were unable to eat six saltines in a minute. All four anchors then tried it themselves, and failed. Weather anchor Sam Champion compared the moisture absorption with lake-effect snow. Allen allowed his contestants to eat the crackers in any order, even crushed up, but when Chris Cuomo wanted to "load up with water" beforehand, Allen disallowed the tactic, considering it to unfairly bypass the central problem of the challenge.

Competitive races

Office workers competing against the clock SaltineCrackerEatingContest ThreeForTracy.jpg
Office workers competing against the clock

Older versions of the challenge include events where one competes to be the first person to eat some number of crackers and then audibly whistle a tune. Such competitions are at least a century old. [16]

A 1970s episode of the educational television show ZOOM , which encouraged children to try creative puzzles and games using minimal supplies, featured such a race. Contestants in this version of the race ate three saltines and then whistled. [17]

In Grafton, North Dakota, there is an annual competition in which contestants must eat four saltines and then whistle. For nine years, it was won by Mike Stoltman of Minto; a local legend who says that he benefits from an extra salivary gland. Stoltman says that he requires two suction tubes at the dentist, and of the gland, "I don't know for sure. But my orthodontist said he's never seen saliva like that." [18] He was upset by Greg Shane of Oslo in the 2009 running, possibly because Stoltman had been celebrating his 40th birthday. Five-time winner Kelly Schanilec (Gaddie) won the first-place trophy in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012. [19] [20]

A similar test is the "cinnamon challenge", in which a person must eat a tablespoon of cinnamon. Again, this is a small amount of familiar food, but it quickly dries out the mouth's saliva, making the powder hard to swallow. Some who attempt this challenge report that the cinnamon is especially unpleasant and that its dust is comparable to pepper spray. [2] Furthermore, the presence of the aldehyde cinnamal in the essential oil of the cinnamon powder often irritates the skin and mucous membranes, adding further difficulty to the challenge.[ citation needed ] The cinnamon challenge can have hazardous health effects.

In the UK, a similar cracker eating contest occurs with Jacob's Cream Crackers, as saltine crackers are less common in the country. Rules governing the amount consumed and time taken vary per contest. Such challenges are popular amongst university student unions. The Australian version is the Weet-Bix Challenge. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutcracker</span> Mechanical device for cracking nuts

A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham cracker</span> Confectionery

A graham cracker is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually honey- or cinnamon-flavored, and is used as an ingredient in some foods, e.g., in the graham cracker crust for cheesecakes and pies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nabisco</span> American snack company

Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biscuit</span> Sweet baked item

A biscuit, in many English-speaking countries, including Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa but not Canada or the US, is a flour-based baked and shaped food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, biscotti, and speculaas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S'more</span> Confection of toasted marshmallow and chocolate

A s'more is a confection consisting of toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker. S'mores are popular in the United States and Canada, and traditionally cooked over a campfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardtack</span> Biscuit often for naval and military use

Hardtack is a type of dense biscuit or cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keebler Company</span> American cookie and former cracker manufacturer

The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It, Chips Deluxe, Club Crackers, E.L. Fudge Cookies, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe Cookies, Murray cookies, Austin, Plantation, Vienna Fingers, Town House Crackers, Wheatables, Sandie's Shortbread, Pizzarias Pizza Chips, Chachos and Zesta Crackers, among others. Keebler slogans have included "Uncommonly Good" and "a little elfin magic goes a long way". Tom Shutter and Leo Burnett wrote the familiar jingle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special K</span> WK Kellogg Co brand of cereal

Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars originally manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used to be marketed primarily as a low-fat cereal that can be eaten to help one lose weight. Following the 2023 spinoff of Kellogg's North American cereal division, the cereal is manufactured by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canada, and Caribbean markets. The former Kellogg's, renamed Kellanova, continues to manufacture the cereal for the rest of the world and the meal bars for all markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheerios</span> Breakfast cereal made by General Mills

Cheerios is a brand of cereal manufactured by General Mills in the United States and Canada, consisting of pulverized oats in the shape of a solid torus. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Cheerios is marketed by Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand; in Australia and New Zealand, Cheerios is sold as an Uncle Tobys product. It was first manufactured in 1941 as CheeriOats.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Competitive eating</span> Activity in which participants compete to consume large quantities of food

Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can last up to thirty minutes, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Japan, where organized professional eating contests often offer prizes, including cash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldfish (cracker)</span> Fish-shaped cracker

Goldfish is a brand of fish-shaped cracker with a small imprint of an eye and a smile manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. The brand's current marketing and product packaging incorporate this feature of the product: "The Snack That Smiles Back! Goldfish!", reinforced by Finn, the smiling goldfish mascot with sunglasses. The product is marketed as a "baked snack cracker" on the label with various flavors and varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunshine Biscuits</span> Defunct American snack company

Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-It, was purchased by Keebler Company in 1996, which was purchased by Kellogg Company in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Keebler was located until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltine cracker</span> American salted square cracker

A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square, cracker, made from white flour, sometimes yeast, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surface, as well as a distinctively dry and crisp texture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal cracker</span> Cracker baked in the shape of an animal

An animal cracker is a particular type of cracker, baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal either at a zoo or a circus, such as a lion, a tiger, a bear, or an elephant. The most common variety is light-colored and slightly sweet, but darker chocolate-flavored and colorful frosted varieties are also sold. Although animal crackers tend to be sweet in flavor like cookies, they are made with a layered dough like crackers and are marketed as crackers and not cookies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Simms (rugby league)</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Eric Simms is an Indigenous Australian former professional and national representative rugby league footballer who has been named among the nation's finest of the 20th century. His primary position was at fullback although he could also play as a centre. Simms played his entire first grade career for South Sydney with whom he won four premierships and was top point-scorer for four consecutive seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milk chugging</span> Sport of consuming a large amount of milk within a set time

Milk chugging, or the gallon challenge or milk challenge, is the "sport" of consuming a large amount of milk within a set period of time. Although procedures vary, the general requirements are that a person is given 60 minutes to drink one US gallon of whole milk without vomiting. A gallon milk jug is a common size of milk container in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinnamon challenge</span> Viral internet food challenge

The cinnamon challenge was a viral internet food challenge. Participants filmed themselves eating a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds without drinking anything, with the video being uploaded to the Internet as evidence. The challenge is difficult and carries substantial health risks because the cinnamon coats and dries the mouth and throat, resulting in coughing, gagging, vomiting, and inhalation of cinnamon, which can in turn lead to throat irritation, breathing difficulties, and risk of pneumonia or a collapsed lung.

Food challenges, such as the gallon challenge or the saltine cracker challenge, are specific challenges or competitions involving food. Milk chugging is a popular competitive eating challenge on college campuses, and was promoted by MTV's Jackass in the early 2000s via their various food skits. Some challenges involve eating foods that may be considered disgusting by those taking the challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese cracker</span> Type of cracker

The cheese cracker is a type of cracker prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Additional common cracker ingredients are typically used, such as grain, flour, shortening, leavening, salt and various seasonings. The ingredients are formed into a dough, and the individual crackers are then prepared. Some cheese crackers are prepared using fermented dough. Cheese crackers are typically baked. Another method of preparing cheese crackers involves placing cheese atop warm crackers. Cheese crackers have been described as a "high-calorie snack", which is due to a higher fat content compared to other types of crackers.

References

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